The aim is to “accelerate the commercialisation and deployment of fuel cells” and to create jobs within the industry.
| Fuel Cell Market Transformation Projects |
- Arkansas: FedEx Freight East (US$1.3m)
- California: Jadoo Power (US$1.8m)
- California: PolyFuel Inc (US$2.5m)
- Colorado: Anheuser-Busch (US$1.1m)
- Massachusetts: Nuvera Fuel Cells (US1.1m)
- Michigan: Delphi Automotive (US$2.4m)
- New York: MTI MicroFuel Cells (US$2.4m)
- New York: Plug Power, Inc. (US$3.4m)
- New York: Plug Power Inc. (US$2.7m)
- Pennsylvania: GENCO (US$6.1m)
- Texas: Sysco of Houston (US$1.2m)
- Virginia: Sprint Communications (US$7.3m)
- Washington: ReliOn Inc. (US$8.6m)
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“The investments we’re making today will help us build a robust fuel cell manufacturing industry in the United States,” Secretary Chu said in April. “Developing and deploying the next generation of fuel cells will not only create jobs – it will help our businesses become more energy efficient and productive. We are laying the foundation for a green energy economy.”
The US$41.9m will support immediate deployment of nearly 1000 fuel cell systems for emergency backup power and material handling applications, such as forklifts, that have emerged as key early markets in which fuel cells can compete with conventional power technologies, according to the US Department of Energy (DoE).
Additional systems will be used to accelerate the demonstration of stationary fuel cells for combined heat and power (CHP) in the larger residential and commercial markets.
The funding includes:
- US$41.9m from President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund 13 projects to deploy fuel cells – helping to build a consumer base for US fuel cell manufacturers;
- Approximately US$72.4m in cost-share funding from industry participants – for a total of nearly US$114.3m.